The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage announced $1,141,900 in grants from the Philadelphia Music Project to 18 local music organizations. This year's grantees include three first-time recipients and represent a broad range of musical genres, supporting programming in classical, blues, jazz, opera, and world music.

The Philadelphia Music Project (PMP) fosters artistic excellence and innovation in the region's nonprofit music community. Each year, PMP awards grants to organizations whose adventurous programming and imaginative approaches to engaging audiences—through both performance and education—advance Philadelphia's role as a vital center for musical innovation.

Among the projects funded:

The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society will present “The Next Generation Project,” a series of concerts which aims to connect the world's preeminent chamber musicians with the next generation of classical music audiences. The program will feature the premieres of new works by distinguished composers, including Pulitzer Prize winner Elliott Carter.

The Painted Bride Art Center, home of the longest running, continuous jazz series in Philadelphia, will present the Philadelphia debut of the Grammy Award-winning Dave Holland Big Band.

At the age of 12, flutist Mimi Stillman became the youngest wind student ever admitted to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music. Now the Artistic and Executive Director of Dolce Suono Chamber Music Concert Series, she will undertake an ambitious two-season commissioning project, “Mahler 100/Schoenberg 60,” commemorating the deaths of two composers who profoundly impacted 20th- and 21st-century music: Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schoenberg.

Bang on a Can, founded in New York by a trio of contemporary composers to support experimental artists and break new ground in musical performance, has exported its unique brand of day-long concerts to cities worldwide. The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival will present Philadelphia's first Bang on a Can Marathon in September 2010.

Montgomery County Community College's “Blues at the Crossroads” concerts will present musical and educational programs designed to engage and entertain audiences, drawing in new listeners as well as devotees of this quintessential American musical genre.

In addition to exposing Philadelphia audiences to significant musical works, project grants will also support the artistic development of area composers and musicians. The Philadelphia chapter of the American Composers Forum will bring renowned composer Steve Reich to the city for a three-day residency. Reich will oversee workshops for local composers, and his visit will culminate in a public concert of two of his works, including his Pulitzer Prize-winning composition Double Sextet.

According to Matt Levy, Director of the Philadelphia Music Project, “This year's grants will support an extraordinary series of projects, ranging from Beijing opera to progressive jazz, newly discovered early music to newly created symphonies. Some reinterpret conventional forms, and others explore new aesthetic terrain. Taken as a whole, these projects remind us yet again that Philadelphia is a dynamic hub for music, one that connects communities, artists, and cultural traditions throughout the region.”

“We are delighted to provide audiences with the opportunity to experience firsthand such a remarkable variety of musical genres as performed by some of the world's leading artists,” said Greg Rowe, Director of Culture Initiatives at The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Proposals are evaluated through a competitive process by a panel of internationally recognized artists, scholars, and music presenters with a broad collective range of knowledge in the field. In addition, a group of artistic advisors, specialists in various genres and periods of music, provided supplemental reports.

The Philadelphia Music Project has funded a total of 297 project grants since its inception in 1989. These awards represent an investment of over $13 million in the Southeastern Pennsylvania region's nonprofit music community.

The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage is dedicated to stimulating a vibrant cultural community in the five-county, Southeastern Pennsylvania region. Established in 2005, the Center houses seven funding Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trusts, and through them supports area artists and arts and heritage organizations whose work is distinguished by excellence, imagination, and courage. Each year, the Center's grants make possible more than 800 performances in dance, music, and theatre as well as history and visual arts exhibitions, and other public programs for audiences in Philadelphia and its surrounding counties. The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by The University of the Arts, Philadelphia. For more information, visitwww.pcah.us.

The Pew Charitable Trusts (www.pewtrusts.org) is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic life. It partners with a diverse range of donors, public and private organizations and concerned citizens who share a commitment to fact-based solutions and goal-driven investments to improve society.

About The Pew Charitable Trusts

The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and invigorate civic life.

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